Georgia fans WREAK HAVOC on Athens after Natty win: WATCH
Georgia fans and undergrads came unglued in their back-to-back National Championship celebration. Somehow, Athens is still standing.
I made my way downtown when this game was in hand. It didn’t take long.
Once the clock hit zeroes, I hit the pavement in search of some jubilant Georgia Bulldogs football fans.
I didn’t have to go very far.
With a second title in as many years in the bag, Georgia fans did not lack enthusiasm.
This isn’t old hat just yet. It still takes some getting used to, I suppose.
Right by my parking spot near Washington Street, hundreds of Dawgs fans marched up the actual street – not the sidewalks – towards the heart of downtown.
There must be something instinctual about the young hive mind in Athens, Ga., when the Bulldogs win a National Championship.
Like a salmon on its annual migration upstream, all of these pups knew that the intersection of College and Clayton was the place to be.
So I followed them.
Watch what I saw, here:
Last year’s Georgia National Championship celebration was slightly more dangerous
From a certain point of view, anyway.
There were still countless Georgia fans climbing trees and lamp posts and fire escapes, high above the Athens streets below.
But I didn’t notice any traffic barrel projectiles this time, at least.
I only saw one traffic cone on one girl’s head.
So I guess Georgia fans are leaving a little enthusiasm at the door with each new National Championship.
It was dangerous to be a tree or an art installation, however.
I do not condone the removal of trees from Downtown Athens’s sidewalks. And it’s a shame that some unruly groups decided to pluck out a piece of new sculpted artwork from the ground.
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If Georgia three-peats, Athens will need to barricade anything and everything that can leave the ground.
There’s just too much fiery Georgia red in this new breed of Bulldog. Yes, there was some property destroyed Monday night.
All in all, this Downtown Athens celebration did not disappoint
Much like Georgia’s back-to-back National Championship effort, this collective barrage of Bulldog joy left me impressed, if not surprised.
I also left with a full perspective on Stetson Bennett‘s legacy.
Some still don’t appreciate his accomplishments. Others are just flat-out envious.
But the masses in Athens, Ga. have major respect for their favorite Mailman.
Dawg after Dawg told me this season came down – in many ways – to Stetson Bennett’s massive knack for delivering when it mattered most.
That isn’t to take anything away from the other incredibly talented and clutch Bulldogs on this year’s team.
Rather, it strikes me as a testament to the fact that Bennett’s storybook career isn’t just a national media narrative.
The people who watched him play and knew him best also admire this newly-minted Postmaster General.
The Classic City will never be the same because of him.
And it won’t be the same without him, either.
